Equinor enters Japan’s offshore wind market in new consortium

Electric Power Development (J-Power), JERA and Equinor have formed a consortium to together work towards developing offshore wind projects off the Akita Prefecture in Japan.

The consortium will see the three companies evaluate and work towards submitting a joint bid in Japan’s first offshore wind auction.

The auction is anticipated to start within the next months, with bid submission taking place six months after the launch.

Once the auction is closed, the results are expected to be announced towards the end of 2021. Potential wind farms would then tentatively be operative post-2025.

This step marks Equinor’s first offshore wind opportunity in Japan.

“We have joined forces with JERA and J-Power, two strong local partners, to participate in Japan’s first offshore wind auction and develop what could potentially be Equinor’s first offshore wind farm in Japan,” said Equinor Senior vice president for Business Development in New Energy Solutions, Jens Økland.

“Japan has a high potential to develop a market for offshore wind. The opportunities long-term are within both bottom fixed and floating offshore wind as waters in Japan are on average deeper than in other parts of the world.”

The article was updated on 9 September at 12:20 CET.